Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired a veteran SG Warburg and UBS banker in London, the latest in a spate of recent changes at the top of the UK's leading investment banks.

The US bank has hired Tim Waddell - who first joined UBS's predecessor Warburg almost 30 years ago in 1985 - as vice-chairman of its global corporate and investment bank in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Waddell, who co-led corporate broking and UK investment banking during his time with UBS, was most recently chairman of UK coverage and advisory. He was last week named as one of the lead UBS bankers on the flotation of TSB Bank.

He will focus on UK clients and work closely with Simon Mackenzie-Smith, chairman of UK and Ireland corporate and investment banking. He joins a bench of chairman and vice-chairmen at the US bank that includes Rupert Hume-Kendall, Henrietta Baldock and Saba Nazar.

In an internal memo seen by Financial News, BAML said Waddell would "be responsible for strengthening relationships with some of our key UK clients and developing critical new senior relationships across the business".

Bank of America Merrill Lynch ranks fourth for UK investment banking fees for the year to date, according to Dealogic, and has won a number of high-profile broking mandates in recent months, including Diageo and BHP Billiton.

The bank hired William Barter from HSBC earlier this year to co-head its UK and Ireland corporate client solutions unit, alongside David James. More recently, James Hartop, who had been head of the coverage and advisory business in Emea at UBS, stepped back from his role to focus on client coverage.

Juan Monte, previously head of investment banking in Spain at the Swiss bank, will replace Hartop.

Waddell's move means that four of the top five banks for UK investment banking fees - JP Morgan, Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS - have seen senior hires, departures or promotions this year.

FN reported last week that Andrew Hodgkin, the head of corporate broking at JP Morgan who had been with the US bank and its predecessor Cazenove since 1996, was leaving the investment banking industry.

Barclays, meanwhile, has recently named new co-heads of investment banking in the UK with the promotions of Alisdair Gayne and Matthew Smith, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Gayne's promotion is reward for his efforts running a corporate broking business that has gone from strength to strength. Since launching in mid-2009, it has amassed more than 40 broking clients, including Royal Mail, Tesco and Merlin Entertainments. He will continue to act as head of corporate broking.

Smith, previously head of UK advisory, has also enjoyed a busy start to the year, working on deals for Cineworld, Bank of Montreal and Channel Five.